The Marine Mammal Center is located at Fort Cronkhite in the Golden
Gate National Recreation Area. The Marine Mammal Center has education
programs that are designed to create an awareness of marine mammalsand
their habitat. Visiting hours are from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. The center
offers three programs that are one hour each. One is a visit to the center's
hospital with a lesson on pinnipeds and sea otters. A second program is
a guided beach walk. The first two
programs are best from March to November. The third program
is an in-depth study in the marine science classroom. Each program costs
$75.00 per group with a maximum of 35 persons including chaperones. It
is also possible to combine programs. For more information and registration
call (415) 289-7330.
Standards:First grade standard 2 of the
life sciences: Plants and animals meet their needs in different ways.
As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know different plants and animals inhabit different kinds
of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different
kinds of places.
b. Students know both plants and animals need water, animals need food,
and plants need light.
c. Students know animals eat plants or other animals for food and may
also useplants or even other animals for shelter and nesting.
d. Students know how to infer what animals eat from the shapes of their
teeth (e.g., sharp teeth: eats meat; flat teeth: eats plants).
Second grade life sciences standard 2: Plants
and animals have predictable life cycles. As a basis for understanding
this concept:
a. Students know that organisms reproduce offspring of their own kind
and that the offspring resemble their parents and one another.
b. Students know the sequential stages of life cycles are different for
different animals, such as butterflies, frogs, and mice.
c. Students know many characteristics of an organism are inherited from
the parents. Some characteristics are caused or influenced by the environment.
d. Students know there is variation among individuals of one kind
within a population.
Third grade life sciences standard 3: Adaptations
in physical structure or behavior may improve an organism's chance for
survival. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know plants and animals have structures that serve different
functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.
b. Students know examples of diverse life forms in different environments,
such as oceans, deserts, tundra, forests, grasslands, and wetlands.
c. Students know living things cause changes in the environment in which
they live: some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or other
organisms, and some are beneficial.
